Release
by Chocoholic24
Summary: Tony's finally out of prison, but life at home isn't quite what he'd hoped for... Please review! STORY COMPLETE!
1. Home

_I don't own 24 or any of the characters in 24._

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Tony couldn't believe it. He was being released! Released from that cold, dark damp prison, where he had been confined to a small, grey box with bars for at least twenty-two hours everyday, for the past six months and eight days. He was going to see Michelle again, to do what he chose everyday, to see his parents, to be free! 

"Almeida, sign the form and stop daydreaming!" the guard barked at Tony, glaring at him impatiently. Tony glared back; he wasn't afraid of these arrogant guards anymore, he was being released. He signed the form in front of him, after quickly checking it over. He still wasn't one hundred percent certain that this wasn't all a cruel joke, and in a minute he was going to be whisked away back to his cell. If it was, Tony didn't think he would be able to bear it. Suicide had crossed his mind regularly, particularly during the past month. He knew that his hope was so close to being completely diminished, that if he didn't get out now, he wouldn't be able to keep going.

The irritable guard grabbed the form from the table, and sneered at Tony. "You won't be able to keep out of prison. You'll be back within two months, everyone always is." Tony felt a familiar surge of hatred for the guard, but managed to keep his mouth shut, as he had learned to do during the past six months. Any comment that was slightly out of place, and the punishments rolled in. It had only taken him five days to learn that, and it wasn't something he was going to be able to forget in a hurry.

"Stand up" ordered the guard. Tony rose slowly, calming himself down with the thought of home. He followed the guard through the door, and down a long white corridor. They reached the end, and the guard turned to Tony before unlocking the door. "There's a woman here to collect you. Go with her, and get out of here quickly. We don't have time to wait around while you reminisce". Tony's heart leapt as the guard turned back to the door, and swiped his card. Michelle? He stepped through the doorway and heard a gasp.

"Tony!" Michelle flew across the room and hugged him tightly. Tony hugged her back, but felt awkward with the guard behind him, and desperately wanted to leave the prison quickly. He pulled away roughly, and spoke to Michelle. "Can we get out of here?"

"Yeah, um, car's outside" she replied, replacing the hurt look on her face with a faint smile.

They walked towards the main door, and the guard on duty opened it. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Tony stepped outside. He stood still for several moments, taking in his first breath of freedom, then stepped after Michelle.

She stopped outside a blue car. Tony gave her a quizzical look; this wasn't their car, was it? "I bought a new one last month" she told him. Tony felt a slight twinge of annoyance; Michelle was out buying a new car while he was stuck in his cell, serving a life sentence, contemplating suicide.

They climbed in, and Michelle began driving. "Any other new possessions?" he was tempted to ask. "New house? New… man?" But prison had taught him that keeping your mouth shut is the best tactic, and he stayed silent.

Michelle tried to make light conversation during the hour-long drive home, but Tony was reluctant to talk.

"Did you get my last letter?"

"Yeah."

"Now that you're back, we can decorate the kitchen together. Like I said in my letter, I can't decide on the colour of the walls"

"Yeah. We can."

Michelle glanced at him worriedly. "Are you… alright?" she asked him, tentatively.

'Alright?' Tony thought, anger welling up inside him. 'Over six months in prison for treason, betrayed by everyone at CTU who I _thought _were my friends, been through hell, haven't held a conversation with anyone in the past four months, and I've seriously contemplated suicide on many occasions!'

Tony sighed. "Yeah. I'm just… tired".

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Michelle was worried about Tony, but Jack had warned her that he might be bitter about his time inside, and that he may need a bit of time and space. She wanted to comfort him and tell him everything would be ok now, but didn't know how he would react. Tony sat staring out of the window, feeling awkward. He knew that Michelle and Jack did everything they could to get him released, and that he should be extremely grateful to Jack for persuading President Palmer to pardon him, but a part of him wondered what had taken them so long.

Michelle parked the car on the drive, and they got out. Tony looked up at the house and felt worried. This no longer felt like home; he felt like a visitor. The house looked quiet and empty.

He followed Michelle through the front door. "Do you want lunch?" she asked him.

"No, thanks. I ate at… I already ate." He looked up at Michelle, and they stood in the hallway, locked in each other's gaze. She moved towards him, when the phone rang. Michelle jumped, and answered it quickly.

Tony moved past her into the lounge, taking in the new colour scheme and the new sofa. He could hear Michelle still talking on the phone, so he walked upstairs, to see what else she'd decorated while he'd been away.

He pushed open the bedroom door and stopped, shocked. It was exactly how he had left it; his clothes were strewn over the floor by his side of the bed and his book was lying on the table by the bed, with a bookmark at his page.

It hit Tony how much his going away must have meant to Michelle, how she must have missed him as much as he missed her. He felt suddenly guilty for treating her coldly when she picked him up, and felt a desperate urge to wrap her up in his arms and feel safe, when he heard Michelle laughing on the end of the phone. Resentment bubbled up inside him as he heard Michelle enjoying herself…without him. He felt angry, so angry at the fact that while he had been struggling in prison, Michelle had been enjoying her life with her friends.

He threw himself facedown onto the bed and closed his eyes, trying to block out his surroundings and feelings as he had done so often in his cell. It worked. Within minutes, he had fallen asleep.


	2. Mixed Feelings

When Tony awoke, it was dark. He lay on the bed for a few moments, trying to work out where he was. Then he remembered. Now that he wasn't so tired, Michelle's having fun while he was away seemed far more reasonable to him than it had earlier. He realised how unfair he was being; of course Michelle had some fun while he was away, she wasn't going to spend six months in the house on her own completely depressed.

He got up and headed downstairs. Michelle was in the kitchen, he could hear her cooking. He opened the door and a flurry of fantastic smells hit him. How he had missed cooking and eating decent food! Michelle turned round and smiled at him, and, for the first time in six months, Tony smiled back. "What's cooking?" he asked her casually.

"Pasta. Is that ok? I wasn't sure what you wanted to do about food, but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you". Tony grinned, here was someone who actually cared about him, and wanted him to be happy.

They sat down to eat. Tony loved the food – it was so much better than the grime he had eaten every day in prison. He asked Michelle what she'd been doing in the past few weeks.

"I've been doing up the house – the bathrooms are done, and so is the lounge, so only the kitchen to do now, and that'll be loads faster now that you're here to help… if you want to". Tony looked up at her sharply, annoyed at the suggestion that he might not want to want to. What did she think of him? That he was lazy?

"Why wouldn't I?" he challenged.

"I…It's just you didn't seem all that happy about it in the car, that's all." Michelle stammered, wishing he wasn't so edgy about everything. She knew Jack had warned her, but she couldn't understand why Tony was so uptight about everything. Why couldn't he just go back to being happy like he always was?

"Give me a break Michelle, I've just been released from prison!" he retorted furiously.

Michelle looked as if she was going to lose her temper with him, but managed to control herself, and instead stayed silent. They ate the rest of the pasta without a word. Tony began to feel guilty about shouting. He knew he had overreacted and didn't want Michelle to be upset. She got up and began to tidy everything away.

"Michelle. I'm sorry" Tony mumbled staring at the table.

"It's ok" Michelle replied gratefully, "I know it must have been awful for you Tony". She wanted to tell him how sorry she was that he had to go through it, how grateful she was to him for saving her life, how she understood what a hard choice it must have been for him, but she didn't know how to put it, or how he would feel if she told him.

They settled on the sofa after tea, and began to watch a film on TV. Tony felt awkward next to Michelle, he hadn't seen her for over six months and wasn't sure what to do. It was like their first date all over again, only worse, because instead of simply feeling nervous, he felt useless.

"By the way, I rang your parents to tell them you were being released this morning, and they said to give them a ring at some point," Michelle said, breaking the silence.

"Oh…right. I'll give them a ring now and let them know that I'm ok." Tony stood up and walked into the hallway, wondering what he was going to say to his parents. 'Hi, I'm ok, I've already managed to argue with Michelle over nothing…' He picked up the phone and dialed.

Tony's mum picked up, and, due to her screaming ecstatically at hearing his voice on the other end, cheered Tony up immensely. He missed his parents, and asked them over for the following day. They agreed, and Tony told them to come for dinner. He hung up the phone and looked through the lounge door towards Michelle. She looked tense and worried, and Tony knew he wasn't helping to improve her spirits.

He moved back into the lounge, and settled on the sofa. "So, ah, how's work?" he asked her, then immediately regretted the choice of topic. He knew that Michelle left CTU to work at Division shortly after his arrest, and although she had always been positive about work in her letters to him, he guessed that some people must have given her a hard time over his prison sentence. He had been thrilled to hear that she left CTU, after how they betrayed him, he didn't want her to be around those people. He felt his blood begin to boil at the thought of his 'friends' at CTU. How many times had he put his life on the line for them and thousands of Americans?

"It's good," Michelle replied cautiously, not wanting to give Tony any reason to feel awkward. "We've got a lot of work on at the moment so I've been busy, but I enjoy it".

Tony nodded, not knowing what to say in reply. He hadn't given his own employment a second thought since being released; it had all happened so fast. But now he began to wonder how he was going to find employment. The only job he had ever really enjoyed was CTU – he had loved the challenge and thrill of working against the clock to bring down terrorists, despite the stress, but even if they offered him a job there now (although he knew they wouldn't) he wouldn't take it, after how they treated him.

And he knew that any potential new employer would want his absence from work over the last six months explained, which Tony wasn't sure he could do. What could he blame it on? Stress? 'I was in prison for treachery' didn't sound very promising. He didn't even know what kind of job he wanted to do. During his stay in prison, when he imagined being released, a job had never crossed his mind. The images he had imagined always entailed him and Michelle having fun together – he had completely forgotten about a job.

He pushed the worry aside, and turned to Michelle. "I invited my parents over for dinner tomorrow. That ok?"

"Yeah, great" she smiled. "Want to eat in, or go out someplace?"

"Eat in. I'll cook". Tony longed to cook again – it was one of his favorite ways of relaxing, and something he had really missed doing during his time in prison. That, and eating the food!

He sighed, feeling tired again at the thought of his stay in prison. He rested his head back on the sofa and closed his eyes, only intending to rest them for a few minutes. Michelle glanced across at him and smiled. How she had missed his company, even if he was a little touchy right now. She had hated coming home to a cold, empty house after work, knowing that she would be alone until work the following day. Since Tony's arrest she had tried hard to see friends more often, and most of them had been very supportive. But she always felt a faint pang of guilt, when she laughed with them, knowing that Tony was locked in some small cell on his own.

She watched him for a few more minutes, making sure he was asleep before getting up, and going to bed herself, happier than she had been for six months.


	3. Parents' Visit

When Tony woke up, again, he couldn't remember where he was. He took a second to recognise the lounge, and tried to remember why he was asleep on the sofa. His neck was aching after being in an awkward position for several hours. Smells of bacon wafted into the lounge, and Tony, mouth watering at the smell of tasty food, stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

Michelle was cooking breakfast for Tony in the kitchen. Normally she didn't eat anything except a slice of toast in the mornings, but she knew how much Tony appreciated food. Getting up with no Tony around always seemed so difficult – all she had to look forward to most days was a hard day at Division, then cooking tea (or, more frequently, getting a take-out), sorting out washing and cleaning, shopping once a week and sleeping. Tony had always shared these chores with her, and they were so much more bearable, and even enjoyable, when there was a second person to share the load.

She smiled at Tony when he walked in. "I was just about to come and wake you up," she told him. "It's nearly done".

"Thanks, it looks great," Tony replied, smiling at the sight of Michelle's breakfast specialty: bacon sandwiches. "My parents are arriving at about half 12, so I'll eat this, take a shower then put the meat in the oven."

Michelle gave him a sideways look. "Ah, we don't have all that much food left in the house" she said guiltily. "I can nip to the shops now if you want, or we can both go in a bit."

"Yeah, I'll come with you" Tony said enthusiastically. He knew that going to the supermarket wasn't something that he should get excited about, but after sitting in a cell all day, every day, for six months, anything was interesting to him. Michelle was thrilled at his positive attitude. After the tension yesterday, she had been worried that it would take some time before Tony acted more cheerful, but he did seem to have calmed down.

They left the house half an hour later, after Tony had taken a shower, and Michelle had cleaned up the kitchen. "What are you gonna cook?" Michelle asked on the way to the supermarket.

"Roast beef, with loads of veg and chips," Tony said with a huge grin on his face at the thought of eating as much as he wanted for a change.

Michelle parked the car, and they entered the store. Tony threw things into the trolley whenever he saw something he loved. Expensive puddings, every variety of fruit imaginable, meat, biscuits… The bill at the checkout was huge, and Tony left it to Michelle to pay while he loaded up the car. Michelle was overjoyed at his good mood, and despite a slight nagging thought about the high food bill, left the store with a huge grin.

When they returned home, Tony began to cook. Michelle left him to it, and decided to get a bit of work done while he was busy. Since Tony was arrested, she had spent a lot of her evenings working. It passed the time well, and she didn't feel as lonely when doing it. Now that Tony was back, Michelle wasn't sure how she was going to be able to keep up with the workload. She suspected that Tony would quickly become bored at home all day on his own, so she wouldn't be able to work in evenings as well. Pushing the worry aside, she settled down and started typing.

Two hours later, the doorbell rang. Michelle stood up and began to walk downstairs. Tony answered the door and embraced his parents, then showed them into the lounge. Michelle joined them, and they began to chat, carefully avoiding any subjects that might make Tony uncomfortable. Tony enjoyed hearing about their lives, although suspected that they may be exaggerating their happiness in certain stories so that he didn't feel guilty about upsetting them by his being arrested. He knew that they, like Michelle, must have been badly affected by his arrest, and hated the fact that he had disgraced them. He suspected that many of their friends had become more distant after learning of his prison sentence for treachery. His stomach churned at the thought of prison, so he quickly pushed his mind back onto the conversation with his parents.

When they sat down to dinner, the atmosphere was happier and more relaxed than it had been since Tony's arrival the previous day. Michelle marveled at Tony's parents – they acted as if Tony had never been away, reminiscing about his childhood, telling jokes and laughing. When Tony brought out all the food, it appeared that he had cooked nearly everything they had bought at the supermarket! There were dishes after dishes of steaming vegetables, juicy meat, golden potatoes, and salad. It was evident that Tony had become carried away at the sight of so much food, and had enjoyed cooking it so much that there was far too much for everyone to eat, but no-one minded, as he was clearly becoming more and more relaxed as the meal went on.

The only tense moment during the meal was when Tony's dad mentioned his new job. Tony immediately looked worried; he knew that he would have to look for a job shortly, and wasn't looking forward to it. Everyone at the table noticed his tension, but Michelle promptly changed the subject, and the awkwardness passed.

After the meal Tony took his parents back into the lounge, where they continued to talk and laugh. Several times he felt himself slipping away from reality, imagining times and places from the past, as he had so often done whilst locked in his cell. He forced himself back to the conversation, concentrating hard on his parents' words so as not to appear distant and worry them.

They left several hours later, but the relaxed atmosphere that they had helped to create stayed behind. Tony shut the door behind them and closed his eyes thankfully. He felt better than he had for months.


	4. An evening together?

_**Thank you for all the great reviews. They make my day! Please keep them coming; they really motivate me to write more!**_

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When Tony's parents had left, Michelle began to tidy up the kitchen and lounge. Tony's dad had been drinking beer, so she collected the empty bottles and threw them away. She rarely drank alcohol, disliking the thought that she was not in full control of her emotions or actions. Tony also rarely drank, although he found it relaxing to drink a couple of beers after a stressful day at work.

They settled on the sofa together, and Tony felt closer to Michelle than he had done since his arrival the previous day. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and they sat contently watching TV. "Do you remember the first time we went camping together?" Michelle asked, hoping that reminiscing about happy times would relax Tony, as it had done with his parents.

Did he remember it? Their first weekend away together, which Tony had planned, then surprised Michelle with the day before they were due to leave. She had fussed about the amount of work she needed to do during the weekend, but was so touched by the romantic gesture from Tony that she gave in, and they took a quiet weekend on their own. They had had so much fun that weekend, walking along the cliffs together, lying in each other's arms on the beach and swimming in the sea, that Tony knew he could never let Michelle go. They had spent almost the entire weekend smiling and laughing together, and it was one of Tony's happiest memories. "Yeah!" he smiled at Michelle, pulling her closer to him. "And to think that you almost didn't come because of work!"

Michelle smiled; she had forgotten how worried she had been before leaving. Back then, before Tony had come along, work had been her top priority. He had showed her more fun than she had ever had in her life, and she loved him so deeply for it.

Thinking of work reminded Michelle that she hadn't finished her report for Division, which was due in the next day. She was reluctant to leave Tony, especially as it felt so comfortable and safe cuddled up to him on the sofa, but she knew that her boss would be displeased if she failed to produce the completed report. "Tony," she said, looking him in the eye, "I've got a report to finish for work tomorrow."

Tony was disappointed. He had looked forward to spending the evening curled up with Michelle, feeling happy and warm. He turned to Michelle, leaned forwards and kissed her. Michelle felt her heartbeat rising, she kissed him back passionately. How she had missed him. Tony could feel her weaken, and pulled back for a moment staring longingly into her eyes. He had hated being separated from Michelle more than anything during his time in prison, he loved her so much, had missed her so badly and didn't want to be apart from her ever again. He moved forwards and kissed her again, holding her tightly, never wanting to let go.

Michelle eventually pulled away. "Stay," Tony said simply.

Michelle sighed. "I can't. I'm sorry Tony, but I really need to get it done".

He pulled away from her, staring at the floor so she wouldn't see the hurt in his eyes. He had only been back for one day, and already she would rather work than be with him. Didn't she want him?

Michelle felt awful; she knew how much Tony wanted her to stay. She felt a desperate urge to sit back down, cuddle up to him and forget about work. But she couldn't. Now that Tony was back, bills were going to rise, and she needed to keep her job. The deputy director at Division was leaving in a few months, and Michelle was hoping for a promotion. She needed to keep up her high standard of working if she was going to achieve it. She left the room, and made her way upstairs to finish the report.

Tony scowled. How could she just walk away from him like that, when he so clearly wanted her to stay? He was also worried, as the subject of work had been brought up again. How on earth was he supposed to find employment? He didn't even want a job.

He grabbed a cushion and threw it across the room, knocking a pile of DVDs from the top of the TV. He lay back, trying to put all thoughts out of his mind to calm himself down. Then he recognised what his body was urging him to do, something that he had repressed for so long during his prison stay. He needed a drink. A strong drink.

Michelle sighed. She was struggling to concentrate on the report through worry for Tony. Everything had seemed fine earlier, when Tony had been laughing with his parents, but now… Was it her fault? Should she be giving Tony one hundred percent attention, rather than worrying about work and money? It was such a difficult situation, and she didn't know who she could talk to about it. She didn't feel comfortable talking to her friends about him, and who else was there? Jack had promised to call round when Tony had settled in, but she didn't dare tell him too much about her feelings, as he would surely be talking to Tony soon.

Taking a gulp of his drink, Tony lay back for a moment and shut his eyes, taking in the strong smell and taste, willing it to reach his brain quickly, and allow him to cloud his mind, and forget. He quickly finished the drink, and got up for another… then another…


	5. Closer

It was five days since Tony had been released, and he was bored. Michelle was at work from eight in the morning until six at night every day, and although she was trying to spend evenings with Tony, the workload at Division was high, and she had to work on reports in evenings. She knew that in a couple of weeks the work would drop off, and she would have more spare time, but when she told Tony this, he didn't seem to believe her.

"Tony" Michelle said softly, poking her head round the bedroom door. "I'm going now. See you later."

"Bye" Tony grunted from underneath the bed covers, half-asleep and hungover.

"Love you" Michelle told him hopefully.

"Yeah" came the muffled reply.

Michelle cast a disappointed look at the bed covers, as she had done the previous three mornings. She knew Tony was bored and missed her, and she desperately wanted to spend time with him, but she couldn't afford to let her work slip. And even when she had finished her work, and had some spare time in the evenings, Tony was usually drinking, which made him less co-operative, and more moody. They ended up sitting on the sofa together, watching soccer matches and not talking. She was at a loss at what to do. She badly wanted to be promoted when the deputy director left, and knew that if she didn't keep up the standard of work, she wouldn't stand a chance. But she also wanted Tony to be happy, and to be happy with him. She longed for the old Tony, the fun Tony, who made her laugh.

She shut the bedroom door behind her, and walked downstairs after checking her appearance in the mirror. She tried desperately to think of ways in which she could cheer Tony up on the way to work, but arrived at work without any ideas.

* * *

Tony groaned. His head throbbed painfully and he badly needed a drink. He pushed the covers back and sat up. A sharp stabbing pain erupted in the back of his head, and his eyes seemed to burn in the bright sunlight coming through the window. He groaned again, lay back down and dragged the covers back over his head. 

When he next woke up, the throbbing pain had subsided, and he felt strong enough to venture out of bed. He managed to use the bathroom, fetch a drink of water, than crash back into bed for another sleep.

At half past twelve, the phone rang, waking Tony up. His headache gone, he began to remember the previous night. Why had he drunk so much? Why? He resolved to not drink any alcohol today, and instead help out Michelle by sorting out the house. That way, maybe she would be more willing to spend time with him in the evenings.

He climbed out of bed, replacing the sheets neatly before showering and dressing. He had lost weight during his time in prison, partly due to worry and depression, partly due to the size of the food portions. He made his way downstairs and raided the fridge. Most of the food that they had brought four days ago had been used up, mainly due to Tony's enthusiasm in cooking. He always cooked tea for Michelle's return home, and always made far too much!

Tony threw a variety of vegetables and meat into a pan, and cooked himself a colorful stir-fry for lunch. He took it into the lounge to eat, being careful not to drop any food as Michelle forbade eating in the lounge. He grinned to himself, feeling like a young boy again, when he had always done the exact opposite of what he was told. 'Rules are made to be broken' had been his thinking back then, and a part of him still felt this way.

After lunch he cleaned up the kitchen, then moved into the lounge. He felt guilty about the past few days, he had been drinking, watching TV and eating snacks in the lounge while Michelle had been working, and yet he had left it to her to clear away his mess. He was being selfish he knew: he was making her life more difficult because she was unable to spend every evening with him. But he did badly want to spend some quality time with her alone, so that they could re-kindle their close relationship. He loved her so much, and yet knew that he wasn't showing it. His mind wandered back to their relationship in the early days, when he had managed to get close to Michelle, despite both of their heavy workloads.

He continued to puzzle over a possible solution to their problem whilst hoovering the house. He wondered if he should take her out for the day at the weekend, so they could spend time together and relax. They could drive down to the coast, spend a fun day browsing the tourist shops and walking on the beach, then he could take her to a romantic restaurant in the evening. The restaurant would make them both feel more like a couple again – Tony longed for more than just a quick kiss now and again, yet still felt awkward around her after their long time apart.

He flipped open Michelle's diary, which was lying on the table, and checked Saturday. There was nothing written down, so he began to search for the phone book. He would take her to the restaurant where they had sat together, just over three years ago, for their first date. He picked up the phone, and entered the number.

* * *

Michelle returned home just after six. She had resolved to spend the entire evening with Tony, as she had no work that needed completing for the following day, and thought that if she could spend the evening with him he might be more cheerful. As she opened the door a wave of warm cooking smells hit her, and she smiled. She loved coming home to a meal cooked by Tony, it was so nice not to return to an empty house, but instead to a warm meal and someone she loved. 

Tony heard the front door shut and felt a familiar squeeze in his stomach. Dammit! What was wrong with him? Why did he feel so out of place and difficult around Michelle – he was _married_ to her! He straightened up, and walked across the kitchen just as the door opened.

"Hi honey!" Michelle said enthusiastically. Tony pushed aside his apprehensive feelings at the sight of her beaming face, and reached out, pulling her body close to him.

"Have a nice day?" he murmured, gazing into her deep brown eyes, then, before waiting for a reply, kissed her. He felt his stomach flip, and pushed her back against the wall, wanting more. Michelle responded, and kissed back fervently feeling weak at the knees as she felt his hands running up and down her body. Since Tony had left, she had been too wrapped up in misery at his absence to even look at another man in a sexual way, and now her desires were too strong to control.

Tony dropped Michelle's jacket off her shoulders, and began to unbutton her shirt. "Not here" she managed to gasp, overcome with excitement at the energy between them. She grabbed Tony's shirt, still locked in a passionate kiss, and backed up the stairs, dragging him with her, towards the bedroom…


	6. A Day Out

"Tony," Michelle whispered playfully in his ear, stroking his hair softly, "Tony". Tony half-opened his eyes, groaned and shut them again. Michelle grinned; he was so cute when he was tired in a morning. She lifted her hand and flicked his ear.

Tony rolled over to face her, reached out, and grabbed her wrists. "Tony! We've gotta get up and go!" she giggled, loving the way he had to struggle to hold his eyes open. Tony smiled mischievously, raising his left eyebrow and moving towards her. "We're not going anywhere yet" he muttered sexily, and kissed her.

Several hours later they finally left the house. The journey to the coast took just under an hour. Tony and Michelle passed the time by playing silly, childhood games, and spent most of the journey in fits of laughter. They arrived at midday, and began to walk along the pier. There were hundreds of tourist shops and arcades as they wandered down the pier, and they spent the afternoon browsing the shops, gambling on the arcades and eating snacks from various outlets.

After spending a large amount of money in the arcades, and coming away only with a small green cuddly dinosaur and several cheap, tacky keyrings, Michelle and Tony made their way to the beach. The tide was out, and they started to walk across the sand hand-in-hand. Tony felt so safe and secure with Michelle; she cared for him, as he did for her. They waked for just over an hour, only stopping when they reached a band of rocks that barred the way.

"Come on!" Tony said enthusiastically, pulling Michelle along with him as he walked up to the cliff edge. "I reckon we could get up here, look, there's an easy route!" He pointed excitedly, and Michelle recognised the familiar glint in his eye. She wouldn't be able to dissuade him from climbing across the rocks, and the route he had pointed out to her did look fairly simple. She sighed and rolled her eyes at Tony with a grin.

"Alright, but be careful Tony!" she told him.

"Me? Hey, we're both going!" Tony replied, turning back from the rocks to face her. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

Michelle glanced at the cliff nervously, about to protest, when she saw Tony's expression. He was happy, happier than she had seen in a long time. Did she want to ruin it? She was worried that if she protested, Tony's good mood might disappear, and he would revert back to being moody and depressive as he had been when she had been working late. She sighed again, before agreeing to follow him up the cliff face, so long as he went slowly, and didn't try anything too difficult.

They began to make their way up and across the rocks. Michelle was relieved – Tony was climbing slowly so that she could keep up with him, and their route was easy going. She peered upwards. Tony had disappeared! Trying to control the rising waves of panic, she took a deep breath, and turned to look downwards.

She screamed.

"Hey!" came a voice from above. Trying desperately to hold on after the shock of seeing such a long drop beneath her, Michelle gazed upwards, straight into Tony's eyes. He was lying on a ledge just above her head, with his head poking out over the end. He offered his hand to her, and pulled her up to join him on the ledge.

They sat in the mid-afternoon sun, watching the boats sail past and the children play in the sand and sea. Michelle snuggled up to Tony, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "This is so… nice" she murmured to him.

Michelle woke with a start, feeling the cold, hard rock beneath her. She sat up sharply, and looked around. The sea was empty of swimmers and the beach was empty of… Oh God!

"Tony!" she yelled. He opened his eyes and sat up next to her.

"What?" he muttered groggily with a scowl on his face.

"The beach! Quick!" Michelle answered hysterically, scrambling to her feet. Tony stood up, and turned to face the beach, quickly understanding what Michelle was worried about. The tide had come in nearly all the way, and, unless they could get down the cliff and back onto the beach quickly, they would be stranded on the cliff for hours. He rushed over to the edge of the ledge, and began to follow Michelle down. They hurried over the rocks, and had nearly reached the bottom of the cliff, when, "Damn!" Michelle shouted. Tony stumbled over to her, looking down. The water was washing around the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

"It's not very deep" he told Michelle calmly. "If we go now, we'll get a bit wet, but we'll be okay".

Michelle looked at him, hoping he was right. She had no desire to stay on the cliff for the rest of the evening, so jumped down after him into the water. It was only knee deep, and they waded round the cliff towards the beach.

"It's not far now" Tony called back, a few steps ahead of Michelle. She looked up to gauge how far the beach was, and tripped over a rock. Tony heard the splash and rushed to her side immediately. He helped her up and checked she was ok, before taking in her appearance. She was covered in water and sand; it was everywhere! Tony burst out into laughter. "What?" Michelle asked indignantly, before looking down at her clothes and realising. She grinned, knowing how stupid she must look. They made their way back to the beach and began the walk back to the car. Tony was striding ahead, but Michelle was in no hurry.

"Tony, what's the rush?" she called.

"Ah, nothing" Tony called back, not wanting to tell Michelle about their dinner booking just yet. "I'm just hungry."

After an hour of plodding along the beach, they finally arrived back at the car and began the journey home. Michelle shivered, still soaked through from falling into the sea and now feeling very cold. Tony glanced across at her concerned. He pulled into a lay-by and pulled off his shirt, placing it carefully around her shoulders. "Thanks" Michelle said, grateful of the extra layer to keep her warm. She leaned across and kissed him, resisting the temptation to go any further. Tony re-started the car and pulled out back into the road.

On their arrival home, Michelle jumped into a hot shower, and Tony collapsed onto the sofa, wondering how to persuade Michelle to get dressed for going out, without letting on where they were going. "Ah, do you want a Chinese or something for tea?" Michelle asked, suddenly appearing in the lounge with her curls dripping wet.

Tony tried to fight the amused look off his face. "Don't you want to cook?"

Michelle felt her heart drop. In a minute he was going to discover that, despite his absence for the last six months, the only things she could cook that turned out edible were bacon sandwiches, pasta and pizza. Tony watched Michelle's face darken. Unable to control his amusement any more, he burst out into laughter.

"I take it you still aren't too keen on cooking?" he taunted.

"Hey!" Michelle said indignantly, "I worked hard to cook _two_ meals for you this week!"

"I know honey, and they were delicious. Don't worry, I'm not in the mood for pasta tonight, so you don't need to cook!"

Michelle grinned sheepishly, and sat down beside Tony. She had missed being with him so much, especially in the evenings. He checked his watch. They needed to leave in less than fifteen minutes. "Don't ask why, but you need to get changed into something nice for going out" he told her, hoping that she wouldn't ask too many questions. Michelle's heart leapt. He was taking her out! She had spent the week worrying that she wasn't spending enough time with him, and even today, amidst all the fun, she couldn't help but wonder whether, when she was back at work next week, he would lose his cheerfulness. Since Thursday, he had become far happier, and Michelle was ecstatic to have the old Tony back, who she felt content and relaxed with. She knew that he must have booked somewhere for the meal, which showed that he had thought about her. She smiled at Tony, then, without a word, went upstairs wondering where they were going, and what to wear.


	7. Working Away

Michelle felt a familiar twinge of guilt and reluctance to leave Tony as she stepped out the door for work. She missed him at work, and had to force herself to concentrate on whatever task she was doing, so that her work standards didn't slip. Arriving home to Tony was her favourite time of the day – the house always looked so welcoming, and he always cooked her tea, gave her a kiss, and they talked. It was so different to the long, lonely evenings without Tony, when she would sit and work through the evening, stopping only to take a phone call, or to watch the news. Since the evening out to the restaurant, Michelle had felt closer to Tony, and they could talk more freely, although they never discussed work or his time in prison.

There was just one problem. Division had asked her to go back to work in Seattle for two weeks, starting next Monday, and she hadn't told Tony. Her boss had asked her to go yesterday, and Michelle, despite worries that Tony wouldn't like it, had agreed, knowing that she had to appear enthusiastic if she was going to get the promotion. She had been ready to tell him yesterday evening, but hadn't found the right time, or the right way to tell him. Truth was, she was afraid of his reaction. Although things were much more relaxed at home, Michelle had noticed that whenever she had to work for an hour or so in the evenings, he would frown and become quiet. How was she going to tell him?

Aside from the worries about Tony's reaction, she also felt unwilling to leave him, as she wouldn't be able to see him for two weeks. The last three weeks had been so much more enjoyable than when she was living alone. When Tony wasn't at home, she would look forward to time away with work, as it offered new challenges, and took her mind off her loneliness, but now, she knew she would miss him.

She sighed as she climbed into the car. She had to go to Seattle if she wanted to keep her job, and Tony would just have to put up with it. She'd tell him tonight. Probably.

Tony woke up startled several hours later. He had been dreaming about prison – again. Cold, commanding guards, his tiny cell, the door slamming, shutting him in… He shivered. Why couldn't he put these thoughts out of his mind? The only way he had found to keep them at bay was to be with Michelle, as her conversation took his mind elsewhere. It was the only time he could forget the nightmare that he'd endured, the desperation of knowing that there was no way out.

As he stepped out of the bathroom, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, the doorbell rang. He ran his hand through his hair nervously, making it stand up on end. He hadn't seen anyone he knew since his release - except for his parents and Michelle – and he wasn't sure how he, or they, would react. He made his way down the stairs and pulled open the door roughly.

"Hey Tony" Jack grinned at him. "How've you been?"

Tony stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He hadn't seen Jack since his trial. "Ah, not bad" he stuttered. "You?"

He stepped aside to let Jack through, and showed him into the lounge. He felt guilt welling up inside of him; if it weren't for Jack's efforts to persuade the President to pardon him, he would still be in prison. He also knew that Jack had been given a rough time, that he'd lost his job over the drugs issue. "Jack" he started. "Look, I appreciate what you did for me, I really do, it's just…"

Jack cut across him. "Hey, don't worry about it".

Tony cast around for a conversation topic, but came up with nothing. "Ah, you want a drink?" he asked.

"Sure, beer if you've got one?"

Tony got up and fetched two large beers from the fridge. They sat watching TV together drinking for a while, until Jack checked his watch, and turned to Tony. "I've got to go, sorry. I have to meet someone, but we should do this again sometime, ok?" They both rose, and walked towards the door. Jack turned to Tony as he made his way out of the door. "Give me a call sometime, I guess you'll be pretty lonely with Michelle not being here."

Tony gave him a puzzled look. Michelle? Going away? Jack noticed his confused look, and added, "she's going for a couple of weeks isn't she? To Seattle?"

Tony frowned; Michelle hadn't said anything to him about going away! But he didn't doubt Jack; he had his sources inside Division and CTU, even if he no longer worked there. He looked up at Jack and nodded. "Bye" he managed to utter, before closing the door and sinking down behind it.

How could Michelle leave him for two weeks so soon after his return home? Didn't she like spending time with him? Anger surged through him at the thought of her keeping this secret from him. He punched the wall furiously, unable to control himself. How long had she known about this?

He sat fuming for several minutes, then dragged himself to his feet and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

* * *

Michelle walked through the door to the stale smell of beer. "Tony?" she asked, hoping fervently that he wasn't too drunk. 

Tony opened his eyes, struggling to remember where he was, or why he was so drunk. He had spent the afternoon drinking, and had eventually fallen asleep in front of the TV.

He suddenly realised what had made him so angry, and he felt his stomach churn at the thought of Michelle keeping things from him. He sat up, turned and glared at Michelle. "What the hell are you playing at?" he slurred. "We're married! How could you not tell me about such a big thing like you going away for two weeks? Am I not important enough to know?" He stood up, and began to walk towards her, but stumbled in his drunken state.

Michelle looked horrified. How did he know? "I…" she began, lost for words. "I was going to tell you" she blushed, knowing how feeble her excuse sounded. "I was Tony, I promise. I only found out last night, and… I was going to tell you tonight"

Tony stood swaying, and Michelle could see that her words were having little effect on his anger. "Tony. I love you. I would never keep anything from you, I only found out yesterday, and I swear, I was going to tell you tonight."

Tony's expression softened. He couldn't help himself; Michelle looked so innocent and he had no choice but to believe her. "Come here" he said softly, and held out his arms. "I'm sorry for shouting" he murmured in her ear, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't like not knowing.

Michelle felt uncomfortable in his arms – he smelt strongly of alcohol, and was holding her too tight, but she kept her mouth shut, relieved that he had calmed down, and hoping that he wouldn't do this again. He wouldn't. Would he?


	8. Bar brawl

_**Thanks for all the reviews, they're great!

* * *

**_

Tony was shoved into a cell and the door slammed behind him. He turned, begging desperately to be released, but the guards began to jeer at him. Stepping back, away from the intimidating guards, he tripped and fell to the cold, concrete floor. He yelled out in pain, but there was no one to hear him and comfort him. He tried to stand, but the pain was too bad, and he began to feel dizzy. The room was spinning around him, and the walls were closing in, getting closer and closer. He was trapped!

Tony sat bolt upright yelling. He was covered in sweat, and was shaking all over. He took a deep breath as he realised where he was, and buried his face in his hands. It was the second night in a row that he had had a nightmare about prison, and the second time he had woken in such a state.

He leaned across the bed, and reached for the light. That was better. The sight of the bedroom calmed him down – he was definitely at home. He looked across to the other side of the bed longingly, wishing Michelle was here to comfort him, and take his mind away from the horror of his dreams.

She had left for Seattle three days ago, and he missed her desperately. The house was quiet and empty without her around, and memories kept coming back to haunt him.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep in fear of another nightmare, he climbed out of bed slowly, and headed downstairs for a drink. Armed with a glass of milk and a large pile of cookies to calm himself down, he settled on the sofa and began to browse through the channels. After watching a couple of hours of trash, he dropped off into sleep, more peacefully this time.

* * *

Tony woke up to the phone ringing. He glanced at his watch sleepily. It was half past ten – good thing Michelle wasn't here to tell him off for sleeping in and wasting the day! He sprung up and grabbed the phone. 

"Hello?" he asked, his voice sounding groggy, then almost dropped the phone as a male voice asked for Michelle. It couldn't be work – everyone knew she was away, and they always called her cell anyway. Who was he?

"She's not here. Who is it?" he demanded, failing to keep the accusing tone out of his voice.

There was a pause on the end of the phone. "Look, if she's not there I'll call back some other time."

Tony began to protest, but the phone was hung up. His mind whirling, Tony replaced the receiver. Who was he? He forced himself to calm down; knowing that he shouldn't jump to conclusions. So Michelle had some male friends as well as female, what was wrong with that? He knew in his heart that Michelle would never see another man while she was married to him, and that he shouldn't be so over-protective. He tried to put the phone call out of his mind – he knew that if he asked Michelle about it, it would sound like he was accusing her.

* * *

Tony spent the next couple of days lounging around the house watching TV. The only time he left the house was to go shopping to stock up on food supplies, and his mood worsened every day. He hated being without Michelle –one of the worst things about being in prison was not being able to see her, and now he was out she was gone again. He knew it wasn't her fault, but the combined boredom and loneliness built up. 

Four days before Michelle was due back the silence of the house became too much for Tony. The house reminded him of his cell and he couldn't block out thoughts of being trapped and alone. He left the house and made his way to the local bar.

The bar was jammed full of people, and Tony, ordering his first pint of the evening, settled next to a large crowd of young lads, allowing his mind to concentrate on their conversation to block out his own negative thoughts. He listened to their stories of drunken escapades intently, his own empty beer glasses slowly filling the table.

Suddenly Tony was enraged. One of the lads was boasting about a time that he and a mate had stolen a car while drunk, and escaped the police. _He _had been sent to prison for trying to save his wife from a terrorist, and this guy got away with theft and drunken driving? He could have killed someone!

He stood up quickly, stumbling slightly as he stepped up to the bragging lad. "So you think you're funny do ya?" he asked, pointing his finger in the youth's face. "You got away with something that could have killed someone, and that's something to show off about?"

"Get lost mate" the lad drawled.

Tony moved forwards angrily and grabbed hold of the lad's shirt. "Look…" he snarled, but got no further as he was pulled backwards by a group of hands. He somehow managed to regain his balance and hurled himself back into the group, hitting one of the lads in the face. He tried to hit again, all rational thoughts gone from his mind, but was overpowered by the fists coming at him from every direction. He fell to the floor and everything turned black…

* * *

Tony woke the following morning and a wave of pain flashed through him. He had no idea how he had got home; the last thing he could remember was losing his temper and grabbing the lad's shirt. His head throbbed – a mixture of a hangover and the drunken fight. 

He forced himself into the bathroom, and examined his face in the mirror. His left eye was swollen and bruised badly and his lip was cut. He tried desperately to remember why he had started an argument with the lads, but failed. Peeling off his shirt slowly, Tony winced at the fresh bruising. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been – there must have been ten of them! His body ached and he felt drained despite just waking up. He crawled back into bed and collapsed under the sheets, briefly wondering how he was going to explain his bruises to Michelle, before falling back to sleep.


	9. An early return

Michelle pulled out her mobile and called home. "Come on Tony, pick up" she muttered to herself. She let it ring, but no one answered, so she hung up, wondering where Tony could be. At his parents' house? She was ecstatic that the work in Seattle had finished two days early, and was looking forward to seeing Tony. She desperately missed him, and hated the thought of him being alone in the house almost as much as the thought of him locked away in prison.

She sighed and dropped the phone on the car seat, before starting up the car. The plane left in just under two hours, and she knew she needed to hurry if she was going to catch this one.

* * *

Tony burrowed his head further under the pillow until the ringing stopped. He hadn't dared answer it, worried that the caller might be one of Michelle's male 'friends' again, and not trusting himself to remain calm if it was. Then he groaned, realising that it could have been Michelle. God, he missed her. The two days she had left in Seattle seemed like a lifetime. 

Tony checked his watch, startled to see that it was almost noon. He contemplated lying in bed all day, but decided he should probably get up, eat some lunch, and then try to find something useful to do. He hated not having anything to do each day; it made his life feel so meaningless. The only thing that he really cared about now was Michelle, which was partly why her absence made Tony so bored and depressed.

He knew he should try to get a job, but was worried about what questions they might ask about why he left CTU, and his whereabouts for the last six months. On top of that, he didn't know what he wanted to do. The only jobs he'd ever done were with the military and CTU, neither of which held any appeal to him after what had happened.

Tony sighed at the thought of CTU, and climbed out of bed, headed for the shower. His bruises were still painful, and he showered quickly, not enjoying the water pounding onto his sore back. He wished they would hurry up and disappear - if they were still obvious when Michelle got back he would have to admit about the bar brawl, and he knew she wouldn't be impressed.

After lunch, Tony sat down at the computer in the upstairs study. He spent the afternoon surfing the net looking for jobs in the local area, resisting the urge to grab a cool beer from the fridge. Just as Tony was ready to throw he computer out of the window, having not found anything that sounded remotely interesting, he heard a noise downstairs.

Tony stood up slowly, grabbing his gun from the desk drawer. He stealthily crept along the landing, positioning himself at the top of the stairs. How dare someone break into his house? His life was bad enough already, without someone stealing from him! He heard a clang from the kitchen, and leapt down the stairs, storming into the kitchen.

"Don't move!" he thundered, throwing back the door and aiming his gun at the intruder's chest.

"Oh my God, Tony!" Michelle screamed at him, dropping the kettle in shock and raising her hands.

Tony breathed out loudly and lowered the gun. "Michelle!" he started.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded, glaring at him.

Tony grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I… thought you were…"

Michelle looked at him, then at the kettle lying in a pool of water on the kitchen tiles. She grinned back, the shock subsiding. "It's ok. You just… scared me. I didn't know you were here."

Tony felt a slight twinge of annoyance; where else was he gong to be? He pushed it aside, and stepped towards Michelle, wrapping his arms firmly around her. She was still shaking slightly, and he held her close, loving the way she felt so warm and cuddly.

When they eventually broke apart, Michelle gave Tony a quizzical look. "What happened to your face?" she asked, examining the black eye and split lip.

Tony's face reddened, and he turned away to pick up the kettle. "I uh…" he mumbled, pouring fresh water into the kettle and turning it on. "Had a bit of a disagreement with some guys. It's no big deal". He turned back to Michelle and studied her reaction, hoping desperately that she would let it go.

Michelle frowned, then forced an impassive mask onto her face as Tony turned to look at her. Where had it happened? With who? Why? She longed to ask Tony for more details, but didn't dare - he was obviously embarrassed about the whole affair, and she didn't want to push. There was just one thing she had to know.

"Were the other guys all ok?" she asked, hoping desperately that Tony hadn't seriously hurt anyone. She knew what his temper was like at the moment; prison had made him so much easier to agitate.

Tony couldn't believe it. Here he was, with a black eye and a cut lip, and Michelle was asking about the other guys? What about him? Didn't she care?

"They're all fine. And so am I, thanks for asking!"

Michelle felt her stomach squirm uncomfortably, she hadn't meant to appear uncaring, but Tony was obviously not seriously hurt, and she had just wanted to make sure that no one else was.

"Tony, I just meant…" she began to stammer. "I mean, you're qualified in hand-to-hand combat, and I can see you're not hurt too bad…" She tailed off, not knowing what to say.

Tony considered arguing with her over it, then decided against it; the sooner the subject was dropped the better. He didn't want Michelle to find out about the rest of the bruises - she obviously thought he had won the fight, and he wasn't going to argue with that!

Tony sighed, wondering when life with Michelle had gotten so difficult. He had always found being around her so easy; it always just seemed to… fit. They had rarely argued, and life had seemed like such fun. He looked up at Michelle, noting how unhappy she looked. He made himself smile at her, and apologised.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I guess I'm just a little grouchy right now."

Michelle frowned, not knowing what to say.

"I really missed you" Tony added, sensing that Michelle needed a little more encouragement to cheer up.

At this, Michelle smiled, and reached out for another hug. "I missed you too".


	10. A bad day

"Tony, I can't talk right now, I'm about to go into a meeting with my boss. I'll call you when I get out." Michelle waited for a response, but instead was rewarded with Tony hanging up on her. It was the seventh time this week that he'd called her at work, and it was only Wednesday! She knew he was bored, but she was getting incredibly irritated with him constantly checking up on her at work. And if that wasn't bad enough, the minute she got home, he would follow her round like a puppy, giving her no time to herself until she left for work the following morning. It was taking all her self-control to not yell at him to leave her alone.

Michelle replaced the receiver and rested her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do. Tony needed to get out of the house a bit, but the one time she had broached the subject of him getting a job he had fallen silent, then changed the subject abruptly. She didn't want to push him, but this constant attention was infuriating!

Michelle grabbed a file from her desk, then stood up and made her way towards the conference room yawning. She had been unable to complete her report last night, what with Tony's sulking at first when she told him she had to work, and then his constant questions over whether she wanted anything to drink or eat every five minutes when she had finally sat down to write it. In the end she had given up, and spent the evening watching a baseball match on TV with Tony, which had meant that she had had to come into work over an hour early this morning to complete the damned report.

She knocked on the glass door, and was summoned inside by her boss. The room was full of people, most of whom were above Michelle at Division, or from CTU.

"Michelle, glad you could join us," the Director of Division drawled. Michelle hurriedly took her seat, cursing Tony for making her late. "Can I see the report?" he asked, as if talking to seven year-old child.

Michelle pushed the report towards him, biting her tongue to keep silent. 'Focus on the promotion' she repeated to herself inside her head, knowing that if she made any kind of sarcastic comment, she would have no chance of securing the position.

"Michelle, this is the wrong report."

Michelle looked up, startled. "What?"

He held it up, and Michelle blushed. Everyone in the room was staring at her; this was certainly not making a good impression. "It's on my desk" she muttered, before standing up quickly, and half-running out of the conference room.

* * *

Tony lay sprawled across the sofa, beer in one hand, TV remote in the other. He flicked through all the channels slowly, occasionally stopping for a few seconds if something looked remotely interesting. He was bored, and fed up with Michelle working long hours in the day, then often in the evenings. 

He glanced down at his watch; Michelle was due home shortly. He stood up, and carried several beer bottles, along with a pile of crisp packets and sweet wrappers into the kitchen. He'd just thrown them into the bin as he heard Michelle's keys in the door.

She shut the door forcefully, and made her way into the kitchen.

"Hi" Tony grunted, still not impressed with the way she had refused to talk to him on the phone earlier. "How was work? No…wait, you can't answer that, because it would risk national security, right?"

"Tony, I don't need your sarcastic comments right now. I've had an awful day, not helped by your phone call." Michelle retorted angrily. Then, not wanting to get into a full-blown argument, she added, "Look, Tony, I appreciate you wanting to call and see how I am, but I've got a lot of work on at the moment, and your phone call distracted me."

Tony's face darkened, and he scowled at Michelle. "So I can't call you at work, you work all evening, what about our relationship? Because it sounds to me like you don't care about seeing me; work's more important is it?" he half-shouted.

Michelle took a deep breath to calm herself down, and replied calmly. "Tony, I do want to see you; I love you. But I can't stop working. It's really busy at the moment, and my boss won't tolerate any more mistakes, so I can't afford to be distracted while I'm there. I know we aren't seeing a lot of each other right now, but I promise; it will get better."

She looked at him hopefully, wishing that he would calm down. It was obvious that he'd been drinking, but he wasn't completely drunk, and she hoped he would be sober enough to stop arguing, and to see that there was nothing she could do about work.

"What about that night last week when you went out with that friend of yours? That wasn't work! You went to see her, when you could have spent the evening with me!" Tony exclaimed, pointing accusingly at her.

"That was the first night that I've seen any of my friends since you got home!" Michelle replied, her voice shaking as she tried to control her temper. "My friends really helped me out while you were away; I can't just ignore them now that you're back!"

"Sounds to me like you wish I was still in prison!" Tony yelled. He pushed past her, and headed towards the door.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Michelle cried. "For God's sake Tony, I can't just drop everything now that you're home! Listen to yourself! Do you really expect me to stop working, and stop seeing all my friends so that I can spend more time with you?"

"Friends. Yeah that's what I'd call it. I forgot to tell you, some bloke called while you were working in Seattle. Is _he_ just a friend?"

Michelle couldn't believe it. How could he suggest that she was seeing someone else? She had never, NEVER, been with anyone else since she first started dating Tony, not even when he was in prison for over six months! How could he think that she would do that to him?

"I've never been with anyone since we got together" she told him coldly. "Don't you trust me?"

Tony turned to look at her, his face contorted with anger. "Whatever," he snarled, before wrenching open the door, and storming out of the house.


	11. After the fight

**_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, glad you're enjoying it!_**

* * *

The door slammed shut, and Michelle stood staring at it, frozen with shock. What was she gong to do? Was Tony coming back? 

She stepped backwards and sank to the floor, shaking uncontrollably with shock, the argument spinning inside her head. She didn't know what to do. Jack had warned her before Tony came home that he might take a little time to adjust after prison, but she had never dreamed that he would be like this. He was drinking; something that before prison he had rarely done. She knew that the main problem was that he was so bored; if Tony got a job maybe he would stop being so controlling, stop drinking so much, and go back to being the Tony that Michelle had married.

"Oh, God" she moaned quietly to herself, tears beginning to fall. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he be nice to her? Did he blame her for what had happened with Saunders?

'Pull yourself together Michelle' she told herself after a few more minutes, trying to think objectively about the problem. She had to find a way to make Tony happier; if that happened then they could go back to being a happily married couple as they always were. She considered calling Jack, but was unwilling to moan about Tony to him; Jack and Tony had always been close friends.

She took a deep breath and stood up, suddenly feeling very alone. She didn't know who to call. No one would understand. At this thought, tears began to fall again; small quiet sobs at first, followed by gushes of tears. What was she going to do?

* * *

Tony stormed down the road, his mind whirling. Didn't Michelle love him anymore? Did she hate being married to an ex-con? 

He slammed his fist furiously into a lamppost, almost enjoying the pain he experienced. He cursed, hating Michelle for doing this to him. Didn't she love him anymore? She spent all her time at work, wouldn't even let him call her, would rather see her friends that him, and was possibly interested in another man. The thought of Michelle having an affair made him feel sick. The more he tried to think of something else, the harder it became to block mental images of Michelle with another man.

He remembered Michelle's words; "Don't be ridiculous!" she had yelled at him. 'Ridiculous', Tony fumed. She had talked to him as if he were a child. Maybe that's all she thought he was worth. Just because he didn't have a job, and Michelle still worked at that stupid, betraying place, _he _was 'ridiculous'?

He walked round and round the neighborhood in circles, Michelle's words filling his head. The alcohol's effect began to wear off, and as he sobered up Tony crashed down onto the edge of the road, feeling terrible. What had he done? How could he have accused her of having an affair? He began to regret yelling at Michelle; it certainly wasn't going to make her want to spend more time with him.

He swore loudly, feeling stupid. 'Dammit Tony! Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut?' he asked himself. He knew that Michelle couldn't really help how much she worked right now; he'd been there, and he'd been a complete workaholic on many occasions.

He considered walking home and apologising to Michelle. Michelle! What if she left? What if she wasn't there when he got back, and he couldn't apologise? Panic raced through him; he needed Michelle! He jumped up, and began to run home, forming his apology as he went.

* * *

Michelle closed her eyes, trying desperately to block out the sounds of Tony yelling at her, but knowing she wouldn't be able to. She was lying in bed, listening hopefully for the door. Would he come back? All she knew was that she wanted Tony back. She would try harder to make things work between them, and make sure that she kept her mouth shut, even if he really annoyed her. The last six months, while Tony had been in prison had been the worst of her life, and she didn't want to lose him again. 

She heard a noise downstairs, and sat bolt upright. She suddenly felt afraid; what if he had been drinking even more? Tony had never been violent with her, but then they had never argued this much before. She heard Tony close the door and lock it. Michelle felt frightened; she was locked in if he was going to hurt her. There was no where to run.

'Don't be stupid!' she told herself sternly. Tony would never hurt you! She heard him climbing the stairs, and braced herself. Whatever he said, she wasn't going to argue back. She wanted to be happy with Tony; not arguing with him!

Tony pushed the bedroom door back, hoping fervently that Michelle was inside. She was.

"Michelle" he half-whispered. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have accused you of being with another guy, and…" he tailed off; his practiced apology forgotten. Michelle was crying. "Michelle". He stopped, not knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry too" Michelle sniffed, in between sobs. Tony moved towards her, and put his arm around her. "It's ok" he murmured. "I'm here".

Michelle tried to smile, but felt awful inside. This didn't feel right. Tony had been yelling at her, yelling in a way that she had never seen before. When they had gotten married, Michelle had known that she would never find someone so caring and protective as Tony. But he had changed. Tonight, he had scared her, and Michelle didn't feel comfortable at all. She just hoped that it wouldn't happen again. If he didn't do it again, she was sure it would begin to feel right again.

She wrapped her arm around Tony, wishing that her relationship wasn't based on 'if'.


	12. Torn

Michelle collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted from a long day at Division. Tony was upstairs taking a shower. Since the argument, he had completely stopped calling her at work, and seemed to have accepted that she had to work a little more. But Tony was still bored, and spent his days moping round the house on his own with no job and no friends. Michelle had suggested that he call Jack, or his parents, but Tony didn't seem to want anything to do with people who he would feel embarrassed around.

He continued to follow her around after work like a shadow, and Michelle was trying her very hardest not to let this annoy her. She feared tonight would be no exception. Luckily, Tony's drinking had eased off a little, but Michelle wasn't convinced that this would last. While he wasn't drinking much around her in the evenings, she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't staying completely sober during the day.

She jumped up as the phone began to ring, and practically ran to answer it. She longed for a good chat with her friends, but was still unwilling to make any arrangements to meet them while Tony was in this state.

"Hello?" she asked, praying that it wouldn't be her parents, or anything work related.

"Michelle! Hi, it's Claire! How've you been?" an enthusiastic voice chattered.

Michelle grinned; Claire wasn't resenting the fact that she hadn't called her for a while. "Hi!" she replied, hoping that Tony would take his time in the shower so she could have a good, long, girly chat. "I'm ok, work's hard going at the moment, and Tony's kind of annoyed that I'm not seeing much of him, but I'm ok. Sorry I haven't called…" she began to apologise, but Claire's bubbly voice kicked in.

"Don't worry about it, you deserve to spend all your free time with Tony at the moment."

Michelle began to feel guilty; Claire was such a great friend to her, and she had pushed her away for Tony. "Listen," she began, "We really should meet up soon, we need to catch up."

Claire paused. "Michelle. Take as much time as you need with Tony. I understand."

Michelle suddenly felt weak and useless. What gave Tony the right to stop her from seeing her friends? Her marriage shouldn't be like this; he had always supported her going out with friends before.

"Michelle?" Claire asked. "You're welcome to come over anytime you like you know."

Michelle was torn between wanting to please Tony, and not wanting to let down Claire, who had always stood by her and helped her out whenever Michelle wasn't feeling so great. Then she had an idea. Claire could come here. That way, Tony wouldn't feel lonely, and she could see Claire. She quickly related the idea down the phone, and they arranged to meet the following evening.

Michelle hung up the phone, just as Tony began to make his way downstairs. They sat together on the sofa, but they weren't… together. Michelle sighed inwardly. Why was it like this? Why, when after years of sitting together curled up on the sofa, did they now sit apart, simply staring at the TV as if the other person didn't exist?

Tony looked across at Michelle angrily. He spent all day alone in the house, longing for Michelle to come back and keep him company, but instead, she made phone calls the minute he wasn't in the room, and wouldn't even sit near him. Well, if she wasn't going to cuddle up to him, he certainly wasn't going to initiate a move.

* * *

The following evening, it was Tony who answered the door. "Hey Claire" he started, feeling awkward. "Uh, come on in". 

He stepped aside to let her pass, noting how she seemed to know exactly where to leave her coat, check her hair in the mirror, and find the sofa quickly. She had obviously been her before. Many times.

He followed her into the lounge, and sat down, feeling extremely self-conscious. Claire and Michelle had clearly seen a lot of each other while he had been away, and she knew about him. This thought worried Tony; how much did she know? Had Michelle told her the whole story, or did Claire simply know that he had been in prison?

The silence was stretching out, and Tony found himself wishing desperately that Michelle would hurry up. Where was she? How long did it take to finish her make-up?

He cast around for a conversation topic, then had a brainwave. "Do you want a drink?" he asked casually, hoping fervently that she would say yes, so that he could escape the room for a few minutes.

"Sure. What have you got?" Claire replied politely, looking Tony up and down. She wasn't sure what Michelle saw in him. Sure, he was cute, but he seemed extremely edgy, and not much fun at all.

Tony gave her a list of drinks, mainly alcoholic, and scampered off to the kitchen to fetch them. He removed a bottle of beer from the fridge for himself first, taking several large mouthfuls before searching for a can of coke for Claire. He eventually located a six-pack of cokes, and grabbed two. Michelle still hadn't appeared, and Tony took another few swigs of beer to try and calm himself down. He didn't want to talk to this strange woman.

He reluctantly picked up the cokes and his beer, then stopped as he realised what it would look like. He couldn't walk in there with a half-full bottle of beer after only being in the kitchen for under a couple of minutes; she would think he was a complete alcoholic. He finished the bottle quickly, shoved it into the bin, and grabbed another form the fridge.

By the time he had handed Claire a drink and settled on the sofa, Michelle began to make her way downstairs. "Sorry, Claire" she apologised. "I had to stay late at work, and didn't arrive here much before you did."

Michelle and Claire quickly fell into an enthusiastic conversation, mainly involving Claire's work and love life. They chatted about their friends, most of whom Michelle hadn't seen for months due to being tied up with Tony. Michelle noticed that Tony wasn't joining in much, and tried several times to include him, but Tony simply replied in monosyllables, and went back to staring at the wall.

As the evening wore on, and the conversation continued to revolve around areas that Tony knew nothing about, having spent that time locked behind bars, Tony became more and more bored. The only time he entered the conversation was to ask if anyone wanted another drink.

He sat sprawled across the sofa, having returned form the kitchen with yet another bottle of beer, listening to yet another account of how Claire had been on a bad date, when Tony cracked. Michelle knew how lonely and bored he was in the day while she was at work, and how much of an effort he had made not to disturb her at work! And yet she had still invited a friend round, rather than spend the evening alone with him, and she hadn't even included him! Who was she to expect him to just sit here listening to this drivel, when he had spent so long apart from her? She had been able to spend as much time as she wanted with her friends while he had been away, yet now he was back, she still wanted to spend all her time with her friends!

He stood up angrily, knocking over the large pile of empty beer bottles with his foot 'accidentally' as he did so. "I'm gonna go upstairs and talk to a wall!" he slurred loudly, Michelle wincing at the drunk, accusing tone of his voice, and wondering what was coming next. "Maybe that way, I'll actually be included in the conversation! And the wall will probably show more of an interest in me than either of you!"

He stormed out of the room, leaving Michelle staring after him, mouth open, glowing red with embarrassment, and Claire examining her shoes.

"Maybe I should go." Claire muttered, standing up to leave. Michelle halfheartedly began to protest, but in reality was relieved when she shut the door behind Claire, completely embarrassed of Tony's behavior. How could he have acted so childishly in front of her friend? She had been trying to include him in the conversation all night, but he had refused to talk! And she hadn't even made him stay; he could have left them alone for the evening if he was that bored!

She was just about to yell Tony, and confront him about his actions when a nagging thought in the back of mind stopped her. He was drunk, and their arguments when Tony was in this state never finished happily. She groaned, wishing that Tony wasn't being so dammed difficult.

"She's gone then, has she?" sneered Tony, stumbling down the stairs.

Michelle turned, enraged by his attitude, all thoughts of approaching this calmly forgotten. "Tony! Look, I know you felt out of it this evening, but that's no excuse for acting like that around my friend! You've been drinking all evening, you're in a complete state, and I'm fed up with you acting like this!" she glared accusingly at him, hating the way he couldn't even stand without swaying.

"I spend all day on my own!" Tony shouted, pointing his finger at Michelle. "All I'm asking for is a bit of alone time with my wife. But I guess that's too much to ask isn't it? You don't want me, do you?"

"For God's sake, Tony!" Michelle cried, her voice much higher than normal. "I'm trying to spend time with you, but I can't just ignore all my friends! If you bothered to get a job, then maybe you wouldn't need to spend every hour with me!"

At this, she pushed past Tony, feeling her eyes well up with tears. She slammed the bedroom door and flung herself onto the bed, curling up in the covers sobbing. "Bastard!" she cursed quietly, pushing her face further under the covers to muffle the endless sobs.


	13. Promotion

Since their last argument, Tony's drinking had increased. When Michelle returned home from work, she knew that she would find him slouched on the sofa, staring at the TV, drunk. He drank throughout the evening, the beer bottles filling the coffee table in their lounge, then started again the following morning. Most nights he didn't even join Michelle in bed; he simply fell asleep on the sofa, in a world far away. He had made no attempt to find a job, called no one, and barely spoke two words to Michelle in an evening.

Michelle was worried. Worried, angry, and despairing. She didn't know what to do with him. She had known when he was released from prison that he might be angry, but he had become worse. What had been a few occasional drinks, had turned into a twenty-four hour binge, every day. He had become more secluded and brooding as time went on. He wasn't getting better; he was getting worse.

When her boss awarded her the promotion to Deputy Director at Division, Michelle hadn't been overjoyed, as she once would have been. She had accepted, but all the time there had been a painful thought in her mind. What would Tony say? She had considered not telling him, but remembered the last time that she had concealed work-related matters to him. She didn't want Tony to find out through someone else. She had to tell him.

* * *

Tony swore at the TV, cursing the baseball player who had messed up. His mind strayed to Michelle, spending all her time at work, while he was stuck here on his own, bored. He took another swig of his beer, trying to block out the thought of her. 'Great' he thought to himself. 'Don't focus on Michelle, don't think about how you landed in prison, forget about how you don't have a job, or friends, or a wife who gives a damn about you; there isn't much else to think about!' He downed the rest of his beer in one, willing the alcohol to make him forget. 

Michelle stepped out of the car and made her way into the house apprehensively. She hated returning to the smell of beer, and a darkened living room with a flickering TV, containing Tony; her now silent, depressed, permanently drunk husband. She took a few deep breaths, before stepping into the living room and greeting Tony. She was rewarded with a grunt, and a slight nod.

"Tony, I…" she stopped, swallowed, then continued, dreading his reaction. "I got a promotion".

Tony's head snapped up, and his eyes flashed angrily. "What?" he demanded. It was bad enough that she spent so much time away from home at the moment, but he knew that a promotion would lead to longer hours. They always did. God, he hated her working at Division. The thought that he had failed at CTU, but she could still remain a government agent killed him.

"A promotion. I'm Deputy Director at Division" Michelle said hesitantly, not liking the look on Tony's face. Couldn't he be happy for her? But she had known that that was unlikely. He didn't seem to care about anything that she did anymore.

Tony's mind was whirling with thoughts of Division and CTU; his own promotions, and then his downfall. The alcohol was slowing down his brain, and he couldn't concentrate. He turned back to the TV, grabbed another beer, and muttered, "congratulations", hating his life.

Michelle knew that she had to try and do something to get Tony out of this, otherwise he would completely ruin his life. "Tony, look," she started, moving forward and perching on the end of the sofa. "We need to talk about this. You never used to drink, and it needs to stop if you want any hope of getting a job. Can't you try to put prison behind you?"

Tony glanced up at her, and smiled sarcastically. "You don't have a bloody clue, do you? You weren't bloody well there!" He paused, took a mouthful of beer and turned back to the TV. Realising that Michelle was still there, he spoke quietly, hiding all emotion. "I don't need to talk. If I want to drink, I'll damn well drink! It's not like I need a job, now you've got your super new promotion."

Put prison behind him? Michelle didn't have any idea what he had gone through for her. He had become a traitor to America to protect her, spent six months of his life in a cell for her, lost his job for her… And here she was, moaning that he was drinking, after all that he had sacrificed.

Michelle stood up, and walked away, fighting back tears. She knew how much Tony had given up to save her life, but if he really loved her that much, why was he now doing this to her? She had wished that he could be released from prison every day since his trial, but now that he was back, he was so different. He no longer acted like he loved her. Michelle wondered if Tony would be happier if she wasn't here, as a constant reminder of what he had done. Did he wish she was dead, and he hadn't made that decision to save her?

She dragged herself upstairs, and slumped in front of the computer, intending to work on an investigation report for Division. But she couldn't concentrate. What was happening to Tony? Her mind was filled with images from their early relationship, before he had been arrested and jailed. They had always been so happy together, and Tony had always looked after her, and treated her kindly. Not like he did now.

Michelle rested her head on the desk, unable to block out the sound of his drunken accusations over the past few months. She remembered the way in which he had stormed out of the house after a big row, and yet had returned to apologise. She had thought that after that things would improve. But they hadn't. They'd become worse.

Michelle wished life could go back to being simple, but knew that it wouldn't. Tony just didn't seem to be able to deal with his issues.


	14. Tony's interview

Tony stood outside the garage shaking. His mind was whirling, and he couldn't concentrate. Being completely sober for the first time in God knows how long wasn't helping. He needed a drink.

Tony turned away from the shabby garage, losing his nerve, and began to walk home. Then he stopped. He couldn't go back home, back to Michelle, who was earning all the money, without a job. He needed to get a job, any job, to show Michelle that he wasn't just lying around at home all day while she was working. She'd made it so clear to him how much she wanted him to get a job last night, while they had searched through the papers together. Tony had sat flipping absentmindedly through the sports section, while Michelle had read the job pages thoroughly; marking anything that might interest Tony. She had then rung the garage to arrange an interview for Tony, not wanting him to ring them while he was drunk. He had to at least try.

He straightened his tie, and walked purposely towards the door, now fully focused. He wasn't going to let Michelle have all the control. If they both had jobs, she wouldn't be the only one bringing money into the house. And if he had a job, he could pay for the alcohol, and she wouldn't be able to moan at him.

Tony took a deep breath to calm himself, and walked through the door. He glanced around; taking in the dark room which would hopefully soon become his workplace. Several of the windows had been smashed, and repaired with tape and cardboard. The glass hadn't been cleared from beneath one of them, and Tony noticed a large number of cobwebs hanging from the roof, which was in dire need of painting. 'Looks like you're gonna have your work cut out here' he told himself ruefully, then reprimanded himself for being so negative. If he got a job, then Michelle wouldn't moan at him.

A short, burly man, dressed in a grimy suit, and sporting a thick moustache appeared from the back of the garage. "Can I help?" he grunted, not looking incredibly pleased to have someone in his garage.

Tony took a deep breath, controlling his urge to run. "Hi, I'm Tony Almeida" he said, attempting to smile at the manger, who was now looking Tony up and down with a scowl on his face. "I'm here about the job offer" Tony prompted, trying to quell his squirming stomach.

"Oh" the manager stated, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting up. "Tony… right. So you wanna be a handyman?" he drawled, taking a drag and blowing the smoke into Tony's face.

"Uh, yeah" Tony said, caught off guard. He'd expected to at least be shown into a room, somewhere for his interview. But this guy didn't seem to know who he was, let alone seem to have prepared for Tony's interview. He forced himself to concentrate, and remembered the answers that he had prepared with Michelle's help the previous evening. "I'm open to do just about anything, cleaning, fixing cars, whatever you need". He paused, about to continue with a list of qualities that he thought would be appropriate for the job, but the manager cut across him.

"Eight until six every day except Sunday suit you?" he asked, watching something outside through one of the few grimy, but unbroken, windows.

Tony couldn't believe it, was this guy offering him the job? What kind of garage was this? He realised that the manager was waiting for a response, and quickly responded by nodding enthusiastically, unable to find his voice.

"Good. Two hundred dollars a week, no questions asked, understand me?" The manager told him, with a somewhat threatening tone. Tony's heart fell. Two hundred dollars? That was roughly three dollars an hour, for a long day's work! And no questions asked? Too right, he did understand what the manager meant. No tax, no forms, no record that he worked at the garage. A completely off the books - and illegal - job. He was about to decline, and walk out, before he remembered why he wanted a job. It wasn't for the money, or the status; it was so that Michelle couldn't moan, and would have to spend more time with him. And she wouldn't be able to moan at him for how much he drank - he would be bringing an income in as well, so he would be well within his rights to spend it on alcohol if he wanted to.

He looked up at the manager, who was now studying him carefully. "Yeah", Tony nodded his agreement. "I'll come by tomorrow".

The manager half-smiled at Tony, dropped his cigarette, now fully burnt out, and turned away. Tony stood for a moment, unable to believe what he had just agreed to, before strolling out of the door. Home. Via an alcohol store, obviously.

* * *

Michelle had left Division early, despite a heavy workload, unable to wait another second to find out how Tony had got on at the interview. God she hoped he'd got it. She was out of ideas for how to rouse him from a drunken slumber, and she had spent the previous evening scouring the newspapers for job opportunities. The handyman job at the garage had sounded half-decent, and Tony had actually shown a shred of interest, something that was hard to come by, so she had jumped at the opportunity. 

Fingers crossed, the nails having been bitten off during the day with nervousness, Michelle fumbled with the key in the lock. "Tony?" she called, pushing the door open. "How'd you get on?"

"I got it" Tony shouted from the lounge after a long pause. Michelle froze; his voice was slurred, which meant he'd been drinking. Damn. She told herself to stop being so negative; now Tony had got a job, maybe the drinking would ease off. He'd got it! A wave of relief passed over her as what Tony had said sunk in. After months spent with Tony lounging around at home with no job, he'd finally got a job. Ecstatic, Michelle rushed into the lounge to hug him.

"Tony, that's fantastic! Well done!" she cried. Tony shrugged, and took a swig from his beer, before turning back to the TV. Michelle cast him a confused look, which Tony missed. "Aren't you pleased?" she asked tentatively, not understanding what was wrong. Tony briefly considered explaining the state of the garage, and job, to Michelle, but decided against it. If she thought he'd got himself a respectable job, he wasn't going to knock it.

"Yeah" he grinned. "Means I won't be stuck bored here on my own all day, I guess". He waited for Michelle's reply, half-hoping for a fiery retort so that he could have a justified reason to vent his anger in an argument. But instead, Michele simply sighed, and sat down next to him.

"Look, Tony…" she began, staring at the floor. "I've been thinking a lot about this, and…" she broke off and glanced at Tony to check that he was listening. He was. "I know how much you hate me working at Division, and, now that you've got a job, and we have a second income coming in…"

Tony rubbed his face, surprised. He hadn't thought that Michelle would leave Division for him. He couldn't help but smile at her; they'd finally be able to spend some time together.

"If you want me to leave Division, I will" Michelle said slowly, trying to block out the feeling of regret. She loved her job, but she loved Tony more.

"So, uh, now that I've got a job, we can afford for you to leave Division, is that it?" Tony asked, not sure whether to believe what he was hearing. Michelle nodded, and smiled at him. Tony leaned forward to kiss her, then pulled away sharply as he heard the TV scream at him. He jumped up, cursing loudly in Spanish at the soccer player, momentarily forgetting about Michelle. Michelle leaned back into the sofa, feeling like crying. For a moment, she had seen a glimpse of the old Tony, the Tony who would have done anything for her. But then he had vanished, and this swearing alcoholic had replaced him.

Please let the job bring him back, she prayed, watching Tony throw a bottle lid at the TV in anger. 'What if you leave Division, and he doesn't change?' her mind nagged. She pushed the worry aside, and stood up, leaving Tony alone, and wondering when to hand in her resignation.


	15. Not the best of starts

**_Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far. They're all great! And thanks for reading!

* * *

_**

Tony downed the beer, switched the TV off, and left the house. He had spent the last hour pacing the lounge nervously, unable to control the rising feel of panic. What if he couldn't do the job? What if they asked questions? Michelle had left at dawn, wishing him luck, but that wasn't much good to him, Tony thought angrily. Eventually he had given in to nerves, and grabbed a beer from the fridge to calm himself down. Trouble was, one beer hadn't been enough. Which was why there was now a large number of empty beer bottles lying on the lounge floor, the contents of which had been drunk by Tony in less than one hour.

He stumbled along the road, checking his watch every few seconds, still nervous. At least they wouldn't be bothered by the time he had spent in prison, Tony thought; they were probably all criminals themselves, judging by his 'interview' yesterday. He arrived at the garage with a couple of minutes to spare, and began to search for the manager who he had met the previous day.

"Tony, right?" he heard a gruff voice ask. Tony turned to find a tall mechanic, covered in grease emerging from underneath one of the cars. Tony nodded, and held out his hand. The mechanic didn't take it.

"Manager's late in this mornin", he told Tony, looking him up and down with a sneer. "I'm in charge until he gets back. He wants you to clean up a couple of cars. They're goin' out today. Oh, an' no messin' around, I don't like lazy workers".

Tony felt himself tense with anger. Who was this guy to boss him around and treat him like shit? He opened his mouth to retaliate, but felt himself swaying, and began to feel dizzy. He steadied himself, anger replacing worry over how much he'd drunk. If anyone here found out that he was drunk, he'd get sacked straight away. And then Michelle wouldn't leave Division.

The mechanic showed him the cars, and handed him a bucket of water with a sponge. Tony looked down at. The sponge was so old and dirty that it'd probably make the car more of a mess than it currently was. But he kept his mouth shut, and began to splash water onto the car. The mechanic leaned against the back of the car, watching Tony work. "So what happened at your old job?" he asked.

"What?" Tony asked sharply, worried by the question. The alcohol was slowing his thoughts down, and he couldn't think of a way out of the question.

"Why'd you leave?" The mechanic said with a raised eyebrow, sensing that Tony was hiding something.

"I uh… didn't get on with my boss" Tony lied, wishing the mechanic would leave him alone and get on with his own work.

"You're lyin," the mechanic said immediately, taking a step towards Tony. "What're you hidin'?"

Tony threw the sponge into the bucket angrily, splashing water onto the mechanic. "What's it to you?" he yelled, leaning against the car to stop himself from swaying.

The mechanic grinned at Tony, and tilted his head to one side. "Prison?" he asked tauntingly, having seen many ex-cons come through the garage.

Tony glared at the mechanic, his fists clenched and his heart racing. "Keep your nose out of my business, alright?" he threatened, struggling to control the urge to punch this pain in the ass in the face.

But the mechanic simply grinned even more, seeming to enjoy Tony's obvious anger. "You don't seem like the type" he drawled, readying himself for any attack that Tony might make. And Tony did make one.

The mechanic blocked Tony's first punch with ease, and retaliated. Tony didn't see the punch coming until it was too late; his reactions slowed by the alcohol. As blood began to gush from Tony's nose, he straightened up, blinded by fury, and launched towards the mechanic. Both exchanged punches angrily, the fight becoming more and more vicious, until Tony found himself struggling to breathe as the mechanic's hands pressed further and further into his throat. He lashed out with his leg, catching the mechanic across the head. Tony sprung up, fists raised, when he heard an angry cry from behind him.

"What the hell is going on?" the manager shouted, taking in the scene.

Tony opened his mouth to defend himself, but the mechanic managed to get there first. "Bastard attacked me! Jumped me from behind!"

Tony protested loudly, but the manager dismissed his moans with a wave of his hand. "I don't want to hear it. You stink of alcohol, you've got into a fight with one of my best mechanics; it's your first day! I don't need this kinda trouble. Get out of here; go cause trouble some place else!"

Tony's heart plummeted to his feet. He'd been at work for less than an hour, and he'd already been sacked. How the hell was he supposed to get another job? People knew, from looking at him, that he had been in prison - this mechanic sure had. He was a complete and utter failure. And now Michelle would hate him even more, and she wouldn't leave Division because they couldn't afford it. What the hell was she going to say to him?

He began to stumble away from the garage, unaware of how much of a mess he looked, blood pouring down his face. Where could he go? The gravity of his situation began to sink in. He'd been in prison, hadn't got a job for months, then finally got one, and didn't even last a full day. He felt like crying, but instead picked up a stone from the road and threw it as hard and fast as he could. He kicked another angrily, almost falling over in the process. "Dammit Tony!" he yelled, as loud as he could, furious with himself, then made his way slowly home.

* * *

Michelle knew where she would find him. She'd tried to make herself believe that he might have changed, that a day of work might have made him see how he was wasting his life with beer in front of the TV. But there he was, surrounded by more empty beer bottles than usual, staring at some soccer game on the TV. She sighed, and entered the room cautiously. Maybe a few more days of work would help. Maybe. 

"Tony. How did it go?" she asked, forcing herself to sound cheerful, and happy to see him. Tony turned to face her, and Michelle took a step back, horrified. His face was swollen, there was dried blood beneath his nose, and he looked positively murderous. "Wha… What happened?" she exclaimed, shocked.

"Some bastard mechanic decided to get smart with me" Tony grunted, not having the energy to think of a lie. "The job was crap Michelle, it wasn't worth having anyway". He turned back to the TV, ashamed. "Every job I go for is gonna be crap - no one wants to employ a traitor. So I'm not gonna bother trying". His words were spoken bitterly, filled with regret and remorse.

Michelle couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd attacked a mechanic, and been sacked. On his first day! But she couldn't get angry with Tony; it wouldn't help at all. And he'd decided not to bother trying to get another job. Just as things had been starting to look up, and she had tried to believe that things would be ok now. Tried.

But she didn't understand. Tony was only angry and violent when he was drunk. Not that she could really tell - he spent all day, of every day, drunk. Had he lost his temper with this mechanic soberly? Or had he turned up to work drunk? Surely Tony wouldn't be that stupid. But she had to find out. "Were you…" she started, not sure if she should ask or not. "Sober?" she whispered, dreading his response.

Tony's eyes flashed towards Michelle; how dare she accuse him of being drunk? But he had been. Michelle was right. He stared at Michelle silently, not knowing whether to lie or tell her the truth. Michelle lowered her eyes, breaking the awkward gaze between them. He _had_ been drunk. She felt like screaming; what could she do with Tony? He was getting worse and worse.

She turned, and walked out of the room, unable to bear the sight of Tony wasting his life away in this state. Her emotions were so conflicted; anger, sadness, helplessness, fear. Love. Because no matter what he did, she still loved Tony. And she always would. That's why it was so heart-wrenchingly awful to see him like this.

"Michelle." Tony said, as she walked out. But she kept walking, tears beginning to fall.


	16. Breaking point

Michelle cracked. She had returned from work to find Tony, yet again, drunk and watching TV. She walked into the dark living room, took in the strong stench of stale beer, along with the monstrous pile of empty beer bottles, and knew she had to do something. Anything. And she had to do it now.

"Tony, this has to stop!" she stated, after switching the TV off in the hope of capturing his attention. After receiving no reply other than an angry scowl from Tony at the thought of missing the TV program, Michelle continued.

"We can't live like this! I'm fed up of coming home to find you in this state. You're a complete alcoholic! You need to sober up. You need to get a job. I know you had a hard time in prison, and I'm sorry, but you're wasting your life like this!"

Tony felt his heart rate rise, and he clenched his fists in rage. How dare she accuse him of being an alcoholic? After all he had done for her!

"I saved your Goddamn life Michelle!" he shouted, standing up to face her. "I went through hell in prison for you! You're 'fed up' of coming home to find me like this? How the hell do you think I felt, locked in prison? I was pretty 'fed up' of waking up to a cell every day for six months in prison! And incase you hadn't notice, I did get a job, but I wasn't even good enough for a handyman in a crappy garage on three bucks an hour!"

Michelle stepped backwards; afraid of the anger he was displaying. She had never seen him this enraged before, and it scared her. But she couldn't walk away, and leave things as they were. Something had to change. She couldn't continue to live like this.

"Tony" she said as calmly as she could, hoping that they could reduce the argument to a constructive conversation, rather than a full-blown shouting match. "I know what you did for me. You saved my life. But now you're ruining it! I love you, and it kills me to see you wasting away like this. I can't carry on like this, knowing that you prefer alcohol and a TV to me. I want to spend my life with the Tony that I married, not the alcoholic that you've become." She paused, praying that he would hear what she was saying, and not simply shout back. But he didn't.

"You don't know what it was like for me!" Tony yelled, stepping forwards. "You weren't there! You can't even begin to imagine what happened, or how I felt while I was in there!" All the memories that he had tried so hard to block out with the alcohol came flooding back to him, fueling his rage. Every snide remark from a prison guard, every moment of pain and anguish, all the time becoming more and more tempted to end it all.

"But Tony, you're out now!" Michelle argued, trying desperately to make him see how unreasonable he was being. "Why waste that freedom? Don't you want things to go back to the way they were? All you have to do is stop drinking. Then you'll be able to get a job that you enjoy doing, and you'll enjoy your life again."

Tony couldn't believe how selfish Michelle was being. She couldn't control what he did with his life! He'd live how he wanted to, and as his wife, after all he had done for her, she should accept that. "I'll damn well drink if I want to! How dare you try and tell me what to do?"

"I'm not trying to control you Tony, but we can't live like this anymore! The drinking has to stop!" Michelle's voice had become louder, and she struggled to control her temper, knowing that if she did lose it, it wouldn't help to solve anything.

A swirling mist of anger had engulfed Tony, and he was focussing all the fury and frustration that had accumulated over the last year - since he had received that first phone call from Saunders - onto Michelle. Just because she had a high-flying job at Division, all of a sudden he wasn't good enough for her? The minute he didn't have a job, and started enjoying the occasional drink, she stopped wanting him?

"You can't moan at me for drinking! If it wasn't for you, I'd still have a good job, and wouldn't have had to give up six months of my freedom! It's all your fault Michelle; you're the idiot who got caught by Saunders. I saved your life, and you're not grateful at all!"

Michelle stared at Tony in disbelief. Did he really think that? Did he really wish that he hadn't ever met her? If Saunders had killed her, would he have been happier than he was now?

"So you wish you hadn't saved my life?" she asked coolly, her voice wavering. "You wish I'd died, and then you could have kept your job at CTU?"

Tony fell silent as he processed what Michelle had said. "Of course I don't wish you were dead!" he sneered, stumbling as he moved closer towards her. "But I saved your life because I loved you! And you don't give a shit about me! I'm an embarrassment to you. I've been in prison, and I drink sometimes, and now you don't want anything to do with me!"

Michelle stood still, shocked. He hadn't listened to anything she had said. He wasn't going to change. Could she really spend her life with him, an angry alcoholic who wouldn't talk to her? Who shouted at her, and made her feel intimidated? But could she leave him? Tony, the man she had married, knowing that they would spend the rest of their lives together. The man who had loved her so much that he had given up his job and his freedom, so that she could live.

She turned away, not knowing what to do, but knowing that she had to get away from Tony in this state.

Tony lunged forwards, grabbing her arm roughly and turning her round. His arm was raised threateningly, and Michelle flinched and yelled out.

Tony stopped, knowing he had gone too far. Michelle pulled away, shaking uncontrollably, terrified. He had nearly hit her. Tony. Tony had nearly hit her.

She stumbled away, out of the house, and began to run, looking back over her shoulder, worried that he might follow her. Tears were streaming down her face as she ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew one thing. She had to get away from him. It wasn't safe. The man she had married, and loved, was gone.

Tony slammed his fist into the wall repeatedly. She'd gone. She'd left him, after he had sacrificed his freedom for her. Ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in his fist, he continued to pound the wall, hating Michelle, himself, and life.


	17. Apart

Three days had passed since Michelle had left him. Three days of anger, misery and loneliness. And beer. Lots of beer.

Tony had barely moved from the sofa, staring at the TV, but not watching. No matter how much he drank, he couldn't remove the image of Michelle's face as she left from his mind. Horrified. She hadn't looked at him as her husband. She'd looked at him as if he were a brutal murderer. And he could have been, if Jack hadn't got to him before he'd exchanged Saunder's daughter for Michelle, Tony rued. Millions of people could have been murdered because of him. The one person who wouldn't have been killed was Michelle. But now she'd left him. Alone.

He knew he shouldn't have pulled her back, or raised his fist. He hadn't meant to, and would never normally have dreamed of doing such a thing. He'd just been so damn frustrated, and… drunk. He hadn't wanted to hit her, and wouldn't have, but had needed to stop her from leaving him. Besides, he hadn't hit her, Tony argued to himself, and if he hadn't pulled her back, she would have left anyway. It was Michelle's fault that he'd been so angry anyway; he'd gone to prison for her, but she couldn't live with him simply because he enjoyed the occasional drink!

* * *

Michelle was lying facedown on her bed fighting back tears. Again. When she had knocked on Claire's door in the early hours of the morning, shaking, with tears streaming down her face, Claire hadn't asked questions. Nor seemed too surprised. Michelle had called in sick for the past three days, knowing that it wouldn't look very good just after her promotion, but not caring. She'd lost Tony. 

When she had walked - or rather run - out of their house three nights ago, Michelle hadn't known that she was going to leave Tony for good. All she had known was that she couldn't be around him in the state he was in. But she knew that unless Tony stopped drinking so much, she couldn't return to live with him. She couldn't live in fear of her husband, worried whether he was going to raise his fist again. She knew Tony would never hit her soberly. And she didn't think he would even when he was drunk. But he'd been so worked up last night that she hadn't felt safe. He was just so different when he was drunk.

She had to know if he was going to stop drinking. Her head knew that he wouldn't, but her heart was screaming at her to return to him. She had to check. Raising a shaking hand, Michelle grabbed the phone and dialed the number. It rang for almost a full minute before he answered.

"Tony, it's me" she almost whispered, terrified of his reaction, but praying that he would be sober. Please be sober.

There was a long pause at the end of the phone. "What do you want?" he asked roughly, slurring the words.

Michelle closed her eyes, and forced herself to hold back tears. He didn't love her enough to give up drink. He blamed her for what had happened. She felt completely drained, and at a complete loss over what to say.

"Michelle?" Tony barked, still furious. Selfish bitch.

"I… uh…" Michelle paused, and took a deep breath. "Tony… I don't want to be apart, but I can't live with you if you keep drinking. Please?" she begged. "Stop drinking."

"You can't bloody well control me, Michelle! How can you leave me after everything I did for you?"

"Tony, I don't want to, I swear, but I can't live like this!" Michelle pleaded desperately, knowing that whatever she said would make no difference.

"You don't want me! Fine! Bye Michelle!" Tony slammed the phone, stood up, and stormed out of the house. He needed another drink.

Michelle replaced the receiver, unable to stop the sobs from erupting from within her. That was it. She knew Tony wasn't going to change, and she couldn't live with him like this. She'd have to leave him. She buried her head further into the sheets until it became difficult to breathe, and wept.

* * *

"Another beer" Tony mumbled to the barmaid, having drained the last remaining drop from his current glass. 

"Rough day?" she asked, not recognising him from previous nights. Usually customers who drank this much were regulars at the bar.

Tony rested his head in his hands, and glanced up at the barmaid. She seemed interested in him, and what he had to say. He couldn't blame her, given the state of the rest of the customers in the bar. He felt like crying, but couldn't; not in front of all these people. The fact that Michelle had gone was slowly sinking in, and sorrow was quickly replacing anger.

"My wife…" he started, his voice cracking. The barmaid handed him the beer, her heart sinking at these words. Damn, he was married. But then, all the cute guys were.

"She left me" Tony said sadly, drawing his finger across the spilt beer on the bar.

The barmaid pricked her ears up at this, and moved closer to Tony. "Why?" she asked, hoping she didn't seem too intrusive.

"She didn't like me drinking" Tony said simply, not wanting to reveal any other details of their arguments. Especially not the fact that he'd spent six months in prison. He flashed a look at the barmaid, wondering how she would take this news. She didn't look at him with disgust, as Michelle had done when he was drunk. And she didn't seem to mind his company while he was drunk. Not surprising really, considering where she works, Tony thought.

He looked the barmaid up and down, noting her pretty face. She wasn't a patch on Michelle, but she wasn't ugly, and didn't mind his company while he was drunk. That was all he needed right now.

"What's your name?" he asked, the alcohol lowering his inhibitions.

"Jen" she replied, casting him a smile. "What about you?"

"Tony" he slurred. Jen obviously liked him, and he was grateful to have found someone who didn't mind the drink.

Jen seemed to sense that he might be willing to talk to here, so asked gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tony looked up. She was staring at him sympathetically, whilst filling a pint glass with beer for someone further down the bar. He stared back down at the bar, and began to pour his heart out. He told Jen everything, excluding certain details that were classified. She listened carefully, helping him along with sympathetic comments and appropriate reactions. When Tony drew to a close, having related the final argument with Michelle to her, he was still focused on the bar in front of him, afraid to look up and see Jen's reaction.

"It must be awful for you Tony", she said, hoping to gain his trust. "I see drunks in here everyday, and you're not like them. I can see you're not like them. No offence, but she doesn't seem all that nice, after everything you've done for her. She doesn't seem to understand you". Jen stopped, praying that Tony wouldn't defend his wife, and would instead appreciate her comments.

Tony breathed out, and there was a long pause. Slowly he tilted his head up, so that they were gazing into each other's eyes. "Look, I appreciate you listening," he started hesitantly. "Talking about it helps. But… uh… I should probably get home. It's late, and…" he broke off, not wanting to admit that he needed to check if Michelle had called.

Jen felt disappointed, but wasn't giving up yet. "You want a lift home? I get off in half an hour, it's no problem".

Tony was about to refuse, but the thought of stumbling home unable to think of anything but Michelle caused him to waver. And damn, he could use a friend right now. He nodded, and thanked Jen.

Forty minutes later, Tony was climbing out of Jen's car. "Thanks" he slurred, turned, and fell. He lay dazed for a second, then tried to pull himself up from the ground. He felt a pair of warm hands helping him up, and stumbled inside with Jen's help. She half-dragged him into the bedroom, where Tony suddenly felt violently sick. He managed to make it into the bathroom, where he threw up, Jen rubbing his back to soothe him.

Tony stood up, and turned to face Jen.

She didn't mind him drinking.

She seemed to understand what he was going through.

She had taken his side over Michelle.

He leaned in and kissed her, a fiery passion developing between the two of them. He needed Michelle, but Jen would do for tonight. Just tonight.


	18. Phone calls

Tony opened his eyes late in the day, as usual, and rolled over. Jen was no longer in the bed with him, but honestly, he didn't really care where she was. Their one-night stand had turned into night after night, and he'd ended up staying at Jen's. He didn't want to return to living at his and Michelle's house, knowing that it would only remind him of Michelle. Not that he needed much help being reminded of her.

He was still drinking a large amount of the time, and hadn't made any attempt to find a job. It had been two months since Michelle had left him, and Tony missed her terribly, not that he would admit it. He couldn't believe how selfish she was being, abandoning him after he had gone to prison for her, and he had made his feelings well known to her on the few attempts she had made to call him. But now the phone calls had stopped.

He'd received a letter from her lawyer two weeks ago concerning divorce proceedings, and he had known that it was final. Until then, he'd always hoped that Michelle would change her mind, and come back. But she hadn't.

* * *

Michelle arrived back at her dark, lonely apartment late into the evening, after another long, problematic day at Division. She tried to arrive as early as she could, and leave as late as possible, in order to avoid spending the evenings alone, thinking about Tony. But no matter how hard she tried to occupy her mind with work, or anything else, Tony still managed to take up a large proportion of her thoughts every day. Had she done the right thing? 

Michelle knew that she couldn't have stayed with him in that state, but that didn't stop her from repeating the months that they were together after he was released from prison over, and over in her mind. Could she have done anything differently?

She locked the front door behind her, and switched on the light in a feeble attempt to make the house look warm and inviting. It didn't work. Sighing, Michelle pulled a takeaway menu from the kitchen table, and picked up the phone. There was no point in the menu; she knew the number, and what she was going to order off by heart.

When the meal arrived, Michelle took it to her desk and sat down to work on a report for Division whilst eating. The phone rang, and her thoughts immediately jumped to Tony. But it wouldn't be him. He'd made it perfectly clear to her that he didn't want to talk to her anymore. She grabbed the phone and answered it, not wanting to talk to anyone.

It was Division. They needed her to come in. Michelle agreed, almost thankful for the diversion that would surely mean her staying at work all night. At least she wouldn't spend the night alone, unable to sleep, unable to block the thoughts of Tony. But while she had once enjoyed work, and loved the challenge of every day, now she simply used it to block other thoughts. She no longer felt the rush of adrenaline in the fight against terrorists. That had disappeared a long time ago, when Michelle had taken life for granted, when time had seemed to last forever with Tony. But it hadn't, and since he had been taken away to prison, away from her and out of her life, and the Tony she had known had never returned, Michelle had simply used work to escape from her life.

* * *

Tony reached for the phone for what seemed like the thousandth time that evening. But every time that his fingers had closed on the receiver, and his trembling fingers began to push the buttons, he had given in to fear, and thrown it down, burying his face in his hands. He took a deep breath, and punched in the numbers. His mind was whirling, but, for the first time in… a long time, he was sober. He had to make this call. He had to tell Michelle how he felt. How much he missed her, and how sorry he was. 

The phone began to ring. On one end, Tony sat trembling, reciting what he wanted to say in his mind over and over again, determined not to mess this up. On the other was a dark, cold apartment, deserted of life. She wasn't there.

As the realisation that Michelle wasn't home hit Tony, he hung up, and began to pace the room furiously. Where was she? At work? With her friends?

Either way, she had clearly moved on. Away from him. Without him.

_She_ didn't spend nights unable to sleep, thoughts of their last few months together crowding her mind. _She_ didn't find herself unable to get a job, knowing that she couldn't block him from her mind long enough to concentrate. Long enough to stay away from the alcohol. _She_ worked in a job she loved, she would laugh with others, and she would enjoy herself.

And if she wasn't at work, she would be out, either with a friend, or… Tony grimaced at the thought of Michelle on a date. He should be beside her now. But she didn't care.

The thoughts of remorse and wanting to make things right with Michelle flew away from him, and were replaced by anger. Anger at what she had done to him swallowed him; how she had left him in this state, how she had left him so desperately alone that he had somehow ended up living with a woman that he didn't care about.

The thoughts of staying sober to try and talk to Michelle, to persuade her to come back, were replaced by a need for alcohol. He grabbed a bottle, yanked the top from it, and drank. He needed to forget.

* * *

Michelle sighed, taking a moment's rest from the constant night's work. She hadn't stopped, which had allowed her to push Tony to the back of her mind. Almost. Now she sat at her desk, revelling in the seconds of peace, but also hating them. Because now, as soon as she had stopped working, he was there again at the forefront of her mind. The harder she tried to push thoughts of him away, the harder it became to remove them. 

So Michelle didn't stay at her desk, where she could sit quietly and take a few minutes rest from the exhausting night. She stood up, pulled a determined mask onto her face, and walked back into the centre of the room, demanding update reports from her personnel. Because while saving the country from a terrorist threat might be seemingly impossible, at least Michelle could try to deal with it.

Dealing with Tony was another matter. One that Michelle couldn't see any way to solve.


	19. Looking back

It had been six months since Michelle had last seen Tony. Six months since the dreadful, heart-wrenching documents had been signed, separating them forever.

She should have started to get over him. Everyone had said that she needed to move on. And Michelle had grown so weary of hearing the same phrase repeated over and over again, always in such sympathetic tones, that she had appeared to move on. She'd become colder, more professional… less like she had been when she'd known Tony.

But inside Michelle hadn't moved on, and the love that she still felt for Tony continued to gnaw at her insides, slowly tearing her apart.

When Bill, her boss, had told her how he wanted their relationship to move past being 'just friends', Michelle had decided that maybe that was what she needed to move on. But it hadn't worked, and after only a small number of dates, Bill had realised that she wasn't ready. And that she never would be.

So they had moved away from romance, and Michelle continued to live in her apartment alone; not that she spent much time there. Her life revolved around work, and Michelle pretended that she was okay with that, that she didn't need anyone else.

She had tried to block out the memories of the divorce, of those uncomfortable, awkward meetings with the lawyer. They had discussed material things such as money, while Michelle and Tony had stared despondently across a table into each other's eyes, each longing to tell the other what they were feeling, but both failing to say a word.

Tony had arrived at the first of the meetings drunk. Michelle took this as the final blow, concluding that he couldn't be roused from his drunken slumber, and that he wouldn't change for her. In reality, Tony had spent the night before the meeting worrying about seeing Michelle, resolving to tell her how much he missed her, and how much he needed her to come back to him. How he wanted to change for her. But his inability to calm his nerves without beer had resulted in him consuming a large quantity of alcohol, and arriving at the meeting late, and drunk.

They had argued across the room at first, both becoming more and more angry with the other as they refused to see each other's point of view. Then, as time had worn on, there had been nothing left to say. So the meetings had been ended, with those final two signatures, signed by their bleeding hearts. And they had left, lingering at first, unwilling to end what had begun only a few years previously. Then Michelle had gone, unable to bear being with Tony any longer, her heart shattering as she drove away. And Tony had stood still, watching her leave him. Watching her leave his life.

Tony had returned to his house. Not home. Because without Michelle, nowhere would ever be home. He had grabbed a beer, and sat in front of the TV, ignoring Jen, who was trying to hold a conversation with him.

As time had moved on, Tony found himself drinking slightly less, as he slowly realised what he had done. How he had screwed up his life. But still not realising how he had screwed up Michelle's. The effort required to find a job was still too much, and Tony refused to see anyone except Jen, and occasionally his parents, when they forced themselves upon him. He found himself wanting to end it all, to relieve himself of the constant pain. But there was one thing that kept him going. One day, not matter how many years ahead it happened, she might call. And if she did, he would be there to answer it.

* * *

Michelle pulled a brush through her hair, checked her appearance in the mirror, and grabbed her bag from under the desk. She quickly scanned the room for any sign of forgotten papers, then, assured that she had everything she needed, walked out of the house, adopting her fake confident and happy appearance. 

The drive to Division was spent focussed on the tasks that she knew she would have to complete in the upcoming day; something that Michelle did every morning. It was one of the many ways that Michelle had found to block unwanted thoughts. Even though, somehow, they always seemed to manage to catch her off guard. Not letting her forget.

She arrived at Division, and quickly settled into the work. After just under half an hour's work, as Division was beginning to fill with employees, a report came in.

A train crash.

Just after seven AM.

* * *

Tony pulled himself out of bed just before midday, fixing himself a sandwich after a short shower. He settled in front of the TV, without a beer. He couldn't live without the alcohol for the whole day, but mornings were now off-limits. It hadn't been Jen's decision. It had been his own. 

He tried to focus on the soccer game, attempting to block thoughts of Michelle. But it was a pointless exercise, as Tony well knew, and he soon gave up, allowing himself a short daydream.

A few minutes before two PM, Tony's phone rang. He answered slowly, not wanting to talk to anyone.

It was Jack.

Tony's first thoughts leapt to Michelle. Was she ok? Jack's voice sounded panicky, something that Tony knew was rare. He stood up in alarm, horrified at the thought that something bad had happened to Michelle.

"Tony! I'm at Felsted Security, under fire!" Jack yelled down the phone. Tony began to question him, but Jack cut across him. "You're the only person I can trust right now; CTU's been compromised. Please Tony, I need help now!"

Tony knew from the tone of Jack's voice that he wouldn't be asking if he had another option. Feeling slightly relieved that Jack wasn't bringing bad tidings about Michelle, and recognising the fact that he owed Jack a huge favour, Tony abruptly agreed. He hastily grabbed his jacket and gun, and ran out of the house.

Neither he, nor Michelle, knew what the day held in store for them both…

THE END

* * *

**_A/N: _**

**_Thanks so much to everyone who has read this, and a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who reviewed - they were all really helpful and motivating. _****_I know this chapter is a bit of a sudden ending, but I thought the months in between where they wouldn't see each other would become way too depressing, and also I'm incredibly busy right now, so if I had written any more chapters, you would have had to wait until Christmas for an update! A lot of you requested a happy ending, and this was the best way that I could see to do that. I considered continuing on to after series 4, but couldn't really find a way to make it work. I hope to write a follow up fic, based after series 4, if I get the time and ideas! Hope you enjoyed reading. Please let me know what you thought!_**


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